


Better Man

by newyorkcity_dreaming



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cheating, F/M, Marriage, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 17:58:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12869967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newyorkcity_dreaming/pseuds/newyorkcity_dreaming
Summary: Laurel finally thought she had found her happy ending but it was all a lie...doesn't mean she can't find something better.





	Better Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FreyReh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreyReh/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC Legends of Tomorrow series, or any of the characters that belong to DC, Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and the rest of incredible writers. I also do not own rights to any songs that might be listed within the story and I also do not make any profit from this story.

Her marriage was a sham. Okay, maybe sham was the wrong word, Laurel thought as she tapped her fingers against her desk. Her marriage was a joke, that fit better; in fact, if she really thought about it, her whole life had been a joke. It was as if someone was laughing at her like all her misfortune was for someone else’s amusement.

Laurel had gotten past the affair her high school boyfriend, Oliver, had with her sister, Sara. She had moved on and fallen into bed with Oliver’s best friend, Tommy. Two years later, she had, with a broken heart, said goodbye to Tommy as they laid him to rest after a tragic car accident. Laurel had watched with happy tears in her eyes as Oliver had married her step-sister Felicity and as Sara had gotten engaged to her college boyfriend Leonard, all past grievances put to rest years before.

She remembered wondering if she would ever find someone and then Alec had come along. He had looked good on paper, and they even had most of their hobbies in common but now Laurel wondered if they had too much in common and that they had become too boring. She dealt every single day with couples and individuals who were going through similar feelings to her own. In fact, her last client of the evening was sure her husband was cheating on her. Laurel had done everything she could to remind the woman that sometimes our imaginations can get the best of us and that until she had proof she shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

Laurel, on the other hand, well she had proof. Proof Alec was exactly who her sisters had said he was. She wasn’t naive. When his evenings at work became later and later, and his weekends away became more frequent Laurel had suspected the worst. The proof came in the form of a text. She had seen it on Alec’s phone when he had been in the bathroom. It wasn’t as if she was snooping, she hadn’t been looking for it at all. In her opinion, if someone was going to cheat on their spouse, they could at least have the decency to not have a preview of the text on the screen.

Looking down at her rings, Laurel sighed and wondered just how hypocritical it would be, for someone who specialized in marriage counseling to get a divorce. Her receptionist had left just after her last client, so she was alone in the office and putting off going home. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her husband, he wouldn’t even be home, she just hated being there alone now. Walking through the house just reminded her of what used to be, what she could have had if Alec wasn’t looking for something else at every turn.

She hit the speaker button on the phone on her desk and dialed her sister’s number. Reaching Sara’s voicemail, Laurel hung up and then tried Felicity.

“Hey Sis,” Felicity said answering the phone.

“Hey Liss,” Laurel said. “Just wondering if you’re free tonight? I tried to call Sara too, I thought we could all go out but she didn’t answer.”

“Oh, her and Len are away this weekend and I’m really sorry but Oliver and I have a dinner date that we are about to leave for.”

“No problem, I was just wondering,” Laurel said, trying not to sound disappointed. “You have fun tonight.”

“Thanks, sweetie, how about brunch tomorrow?” Felicity asked.

“Sounds good. Usual place?”

“Absolutely,” Felicity said. “I really have to go, but I’ll see you at ten.”

“Okay bye,” Laurel said before hanging up the phone.

~

Once home, Laurel walked around her big, empty house. She pulled some ice cream from the freezer, leaned against the counter and ate it straight from the tub. Hearing her phone message tone she searched through her bag and pulled it out and smiled when she saw the text.

**Lisa:** So Felicity said you might need a friend tonight - Me and Cait are going to Mick’s Place for drinks - come join us.

**Laurel:** You’re a lifesaver! When?

**Lisa:** We’re heading there now.

**Laurel:** I’ll see you there.

~

By the time Laurel had walked into Mick’s Place, she had changed into a very low cut, strappy, halter neck dress. Her stilettos, patent black, matched the dress perfectly and as she walked into the club she swore it was like an old movie, everyone turning to look at her.

Although she was far from conceited, arrogant or vain, Laurel did know that she was an attractive woman and tonight she was going to flaunt that. Alec was off banging his assistant for the weekend so there was no reason she couldn’t have a little fun too.

She spotted Lisa and Caitlin at a table near the back and waved at them before pointing to the bar, letting them know she was going to get a drink. Laurel flirted with the guy behind the bar, Ray, as she waiting for her drink but she could feel eyes on her from somewhere in the room. Finally, she turned and saw Mick Rory, the club owner, staring at her from a booth in the corner. Laurel bit her lip, giving him a smile before picking up her drink and heading over to where the girls were.

Mick was one of those guys that Laurel wouldn’t have given the time of day. He was gruff, rude and acted dumb just for the fun of it, something that did not impress Laurel at all. She wasn’t sure why Mick felt the need to pretend to be that way in front of everyone else but she knew that there was no way he could have kept his club open for the past five years if he was as dumb as he made everyone think he was.

They had met a little over six months earlier. Laurel had turned up to her sister’s alone, again, only to find Mick also there. Sara had introduced them, letting Laurel know that Micke was Leonard’s best friend and therefore also his best man. At first, Laurel had no idea how she was going to work with Mick, everything about him screamed, run! But over the past few months, he had grown on her and now things were much easier and far more civilized.

“Hey lovelies,” Laurel said as she slid onto a stool at the table where Caitlin and Lisa were already sitting.

“Hey,” Lisa replied. “How was your week?”

“Okay, I mean I solve everybody’s problems but my own,” Laurel said with a laugh.

Caitlin gave her a sad smile across the table. “So I take it Alec is away again?”

“As always,” Laurel said.

“I swear, he has got to be the dumbest guy I know!” Lisa exclaimed. “Tell me again why you aren’t divorcing him?”

“Wouldn’t it be a little strange for her, as a marriage guru, to get divorced?” Caitlin asked.

“See that’s exactly why I haven’t suggested it,” Laurel said. “I mean, I’m just scared that I’m going to lose all kinds of respect with my clients.”

“Screw your marriage counselling, you could totally counsel normal psycho people!” Lisa exclaimed shaking her head.

“Yeah, like Lisa,” Caitlin added.

“I totally would!”

“You can come see me any time Babe,” Laurel said to Lisa with a grin. 

“I’m so happy to hear that because she has so many issues,” Caitlin said.

“Coming from the girl who has called and hung up on Barry at least three times in the last two days,” Lisa said with a smirk.

“Oh you’re not doing that again,” Laurel said, disappointment clear in her tone.

“We aren’t talking about me,” Caitlin fired back. “I think we should get back to Laurel.”

“Laurel knows what she needs,” Lisa said, “and that’s to fall into bed with someone who isn’t Alec and have a bit of fun.”

“Don’t think we aren’t talking about it Cait,” Laurel said before turning to look at Lisa with a smirk. “Who says I haven’t?”

“Holy crap! You have totally been holding out on us haven’t you!”

“Lisa, not everyone talks about their sex lives so openly like you do,” Caitlin said.

“But they should, and Laurel should have told us! Who is he? Do we know him or was it a random guy? When did this happen?” Lisa asked quickly.

“I’m with Cait on this one. Those aren’t things you need to know,” Laurel answered.

“Yes, they are!”

“No, what we really need to know is why Caitlin can’t follow through and actually speak to Barry,” Laurel said turning from Lisa to Caitlin.

“That’s not any of your business,” Caitlin stated.

“Cait, come on! What’s holding you back?” Laurel asked.

“It’s just that we’ve been friends for so long and yeah okay, we had a couple of dates that I thought went well but what if making it more actually ruins our friendship.”

“With the two of you, I think that’s very unlikely,” Laurel said. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you and Cait, that boy is beyond crazy about you.” 

“You really think so?”

“I know so!” Laurel exclaimed. “You need to call him and go see him, like right now.”

Caitlin bit her lip for a moment, unsure, before nodding and sliding off her seat. “I’m just going to go see him!” She declared grabbing her purse and heading out.

“Well look at you go,” Lisa said with a laugh turning to Laurel, “who knew Caitlin had it in her?”

“And now we get to talk about you,” Laurel said to her friend. “What’s with the string of guys you’ve been leaving in the dust?”

“None of them were the right one,” Lisa said with a shrug.

“None of them were the right one because they weren’t Ray.”

“Ray? Ray Palmer? The bartender?”

“Yes, that Ray,” Laurel said shaking her head. “Don’t make me slap you for being stupid. I saw how you were watching me flirt with him earlier and honestly if looks could kill, you’d be wanted for murder!”

“I’ve known Ray forever, we even tried to date once back in high school but it didn’t work out.”

“Probably because you weren’t ready, you were too young but Lisa, you’re ready and I can tell he really likes you too. You should go out once he finishes his shift, he said he’s not closing tonight so make the most of that.”

“So you can make the most of being left at Mick’s club all alone, with only Mick for company?”

“In case you haven’t noticed there's like a hundred other people here right now.”

“But none of them have been looking at you like Mick has!”

“Oh, and how’s that?” Laurel asked.

“Like he’s already seen you naked before and plans to again tonight,” Lisa replied. She watched as Laurel looked down at the table and ripped the corner off her napkin. “OMG! I’m totally right aren’t I?”

“What? You’re crazy with your ideas, Lisa,” Laurel said rolling her eyes.

“I’m not, you just don’t want to say it out loud.”

Laurel took a deep breath and sighed. “Fine, the guy was Mick, but it was a one-time thing.”

“Doesn’t look like he wants to keep it that way, I’m not even sure you want to,” Lisa said.

“I’m married!”

“To a guy who is cheating on you every chance he can get!”

“That doesn’t make me cheating any better Lisa!”

“You deserve to be happy, Laurel, and okay I understand your reservations about getting a divorce but you also can’t be a good therapist if you’re not happy with your life. You need to put you first! I’ll talk to Ray tonight but you have to stay behind and have a conversation or a not conversation with Mick,” Lisa said, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing, “the only thing I want to say is that Mick acts all tough but if he really cares for someone he does it with his whole heart. Other than Len, me, and I guess Sara now because she’s gonna be Lenny’s wife, Mick hasn’t given his heart out. Don’t be the one to break his, Laurel.”

Laurel sighed and watched as Lisa headed over to the bar chatting openly with Ray who seemed to be finishing up his shift. She thought about Lisa’s words and shook her head at the relationship Lisa had with Mick. Laurel had never thought about it before but Mick really was as much of a big brother to the girl as Leonard hard been, which meant Laurel knew Lisa was right. She had to be sure about her next move because Laurel wasn’t sure if she could live with herself if she was the one to break Mick’s heart.

~

Her phone began to buzz on the table and Laurel sighed as she looked down and saw Alec’s number. She answered the phone with as cheery voice as possible only to be met with muffled voices. It took her a few seconds to realized that he had called her from his pocket. There was muffled talking followed by moaning causing Laurel to hang up promptly. The last things she needed to hear was her husband having sex with another woman.

Downing her drink she tapped her fingers on the table and watched the crowd around one of the pools tables at the back of the bar. Her phone buzzed and Laurel looked down at it, assuming it would be her husband, but to her surprise, it was a text from Sara. When Felicity had told her earlier that their sister was going away from the weekend, Laurel figured she wouldn’t hear from Sara until she had returned.

Laurel opened the message and read it with a smile. 

**Sara:** I saw your missed called and just wanted to make sure you were okay.

**Laurel:** I’m fine. Forgot you were going away, I’ll see you when you get back. Enjoy your trip xo

She placed her phone back on the table, she didn’t expect a response from her sister. A drink appeared on the table in front of her and Laurel looked up to see Jax standing in front of her.

“Hey Jax, what’s this?” Laurel asked motioning toward the drink.

“From the boss,” Jax said pointing over to where Mick lifted his drink and nodded toward her.

Laurel smiled and lifted the drink toward him in return as Jax walked off. She watched as Mick looked back down at the paperwork in front of him and she wondered why he wasn’t just doing it in his office. It was ironic that Alec had called her while she was here tonight because this was exactly where she had gone when she had found out about his affair. Mick had comforted her and they had ended up back at his, her leaving in the early morning light, a one-off, or at least that’s what she had told herself. She sipped her drink and looked back over at Mick, she knew it was wrong, she was married, but she also hadn’t forgotten the way Mick made her feel. Picking up her glass she slid off the chair and made her way over to him, her mind made up. If Alec could have fun, so could she.

~

“So what brings you here tonight?” Mick asked as Laurel sat down in the booth across from him. “No good husband out of town again?”

“Away for the weekend,” Laurel said running her finger around the top of her glass.

“Not sure if I should be thankful for that or not. I mean last time he was gone, we had a really good time.”

“We did,” Laurel agreed with a grin.

“Any chance of a repeat?”

“Well I didn’t stay around to help you with stocktake,” Laurel said before getting up and heading through the staff only door toward Mick’s office.

~

She was pressed up against his office door, his lips on hers the moment the door was closed, her fingers undoing the buttons of his shirt as they fought for control over the kiss.

Moving away from the door, Laurel finally pushed the shirt from Mick’s shoulders, stepping over it as they moved further into the room.

Laurel moved her hands down his chest until she reached his pants and undid the button. Sliding the zipper down, she felt him move his hands to help her push them down, kicking them across the room as soon as he could. 

Mick’s hand ran up her bare back until she felt his fingers pulling loose the halter strings of her dress and Laurel moaned out his name as he pressed his lips to the juncture between her neck and shoulder. She pushed him onto the couch in his office and let her dress fall to the floor before straddling his lap, pulling his lips back to her own. She felt one of Mick’s hands on her breast as the other slid down her body and under the lace of her thong.

She mumbled something that sounded like his name but even Laurel couldn’t be sure of what she said as Mick pushed a finger inside her. Laurel threw her head back, arching her chest toward him. Mick took full advantage of this, his mouth descending to her right breast as his free arm wrapped around her back holding her in place.

“Holy...” Laurel moaned out but lost her train of thought as Mick added a second finger and moved his mouth across to her left breast.

“Never been that,” Mick mumbled against her chest.

She felt as if her body was on fire, but she wanted more, more of him. Laurel reached out and scraped her nails up Mick’s back before letting them rest on his shoulders. She pushed him back and then fused her mouth to his hotly, moaning as she slid her hand down his chest and into his boxers. Mick let out a groan as she ran her hand along his length and Laurel couldn’t help but tug at his bottom lip with her teeth.

She knew she was getting close but she also knew exactly what she wanted, which was more than Mick was currently giving her. “I need you in me,” Laurel moaned out as she moved her hand faster inside his boxers.

Mick let out a sound that Laurel could only compare to a growl as he slid his fingers from her and in one movement, lifted Laurel, tore off her thong, pulled his boxers down enough to allow his cock out of its confinement and then slammed her down onto his length.

As Laurel began to move, she let out another moan, louder than the last and couldn’t help but think that being with Mick was even better than she remembered. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she continued to move herself up and down his cock, growing closer to her climax with every move. 

Mick thrust up to met her as she came back down and then pulled her tighter as he turned them and lay her down on the couch beneath him. As he gained more control of the situation he knew it wouldn’t be long until she fell apart under him. She met him thrust for thrust and it wasn’t long before Laurel felt herself tighten around him, screaming his name as she hit her climax. His name from her lips was Mick’s undoing as he followed soon after and then collapsed on top of her.

Laurel lay beneath him trying to catch her breath. Mick pulled out of her and moved to stand but Laurel pulled him back to her. He adjusted his position on the couch and lay next to her. Laurel looked up at him and sighed, content, before leaning up and pressing her lips to his softly. Mick returned the kiss for a moment and then pulled back to look at her with questioning eyes.

She knew what he wanted. Some kind of answer or explanation for what had happened, but she wasn’t sure if she could give him one. Maybe Lisa was right, maybe being stuck in her dead-end marriage was actually a bad thing for business.

“I know you want answers,” Laurel whispered as if it was some big secret.

“I don’t need them,” Mick replied, but they both knew it was a lie. “Do you still love him?”

Laurel looked down and then back up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. “I don’t want to,” she answered, “After everything, how is it still even possible that I do?”

“Because you have a good heart,” Mick said pressing his lips to her forehead before getting up.

She sat up and watched him get dressed as she then stood and slid her own clothes back on. “I’m sorry, for this. I mean, I’m not sorry about this but I’m sorry I don’t have the answers you want.”

“If I didn’t want this, didn’t want you, I wouldn’t have followed you in here,” Mick said.

“I know, I just wish that I could give you something more, more of me.”

“I can wait,” Mick said looking over at her. “I’ll always be here if you need me, Laurel.”

She nodded at him and headed for the door before turning back to look at him. “One day this will be different,” she all but whispered across the room.

“And I’ll be here when they are.”

Laurel gave him a small smile and left the room, her mind spinning with thoughts of her life and how one-day things would change, and she’d allow herself to be happy again.

**SIX MONTHS LATER**

Laurel waved at Ray as she walked toward the back of the building, she pushed past the staff only door and made her way down the hall to Mick’s office. Knocking on the door, she heard his voice and pushed it open and leaned against the doorframe watching as he continued to work.

Mick finally looked up at her and Laurel bit her lip and gave him a smile. She walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Reaching his desk she leaned against it, standing between Mick and the work he had been doing.

“You good there?” He asked looking up at her.

“I really am,” she told him, brushing her hair out of her face.

It was then he noticed her hand; her rings were gone. Standing up, Mick took Laurel’s face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. Laurel smiled into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck before deepening the kiss. This was the first moment in her life, in ages, that she knew everything was going to be okay.


End file.
